Local Leads: 10/12/10

News you need to know

Receive the latest local updates in your inbox

The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:

OOPSGazette: "A voters guide published by the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County has misidentified Republican gubernatorial candidate Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. as a Democrat. The 28-page guide, published earlier this month, includes information on the qualifications and positions of state and local candidates. The league corrected the guide on its website but does not plan to remove 70,000 print copies of the publication in circulation at Montgomery County libraries, government offices and retail locations, co-president Diane Hibino said Monday morning."

GHOST CRUISERInsideNova.com: "Just placing a police cruiser — no officer, just the vehicle — on the side of a road can slow drivers and prevent speeders, according to a study conducted by Fairfax County law enforcement officials between Sept. 13 and 16, and again from Sept. 27 through 29. The Ghost Cruiser is called that because its windows are tinted so darkly that passersby are unable to to tell if it’s manned. During the two test periods, an officer noted the speeds of drivers on Pohick Road over Interstate 95 both with and without the presence of the Ghost Cruiser – and found significant differences."

METRO SMART CARD PRICE DROP Washington Examiner: "After months of delays, Metro officials are on the verge of cutting the price of SmarTrip fare cards in half -- from $5 to $2.50 -- and will not eliminate cardholders' ability to exit the system with a negative balance. SmarTrip users would still pay a minimum of $5 for a new card, but the card would come preloaded with at least $2.50 in fare value, according to Metro planning documents. SmarTrip cards in the past could be purchased with no preloaded value."

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY WTOP.com: "A recent spate of fatal accidents involving pedestrians have led at least one local administrator to consider redesigning the roads. Pedestrians contributed to eight out of 11 fatal crashes in Montgomery County, police say, sometimes engaging in risky behavior as they traverse heavily trafficked routes. Pedestrians accessing the White Flint Metro station in Rockville, Md., for example, have to cross eight lanes of traffic on Rockville Pike."